U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice objected Wednesday to the Palestinians' latest bid to capitalize on their upgraded U.N. status when their foreign minister spoke at the Security Council while seated behind a nameplate reading "State of Palestine." It was the first Palestinian address to the Security Council since the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Nov. 29 to upgrade the Palestinians from U.N. observer to nonvoting member state. Rice said the United States does not recognize the General Assembly vote "as bestowing Palestinian 'statehood' or recognition." Canadian Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski later made a similar complaint.

Houston

Man charged in college shooting

Law enforcement officials said Wednesday they have not recovered the pistol used in a shooting at a community college Tuesday that left four people hospitalized. But they said they have charged the student they say fired the shots during an argument and are searching for a possible second suspect. Carlton Berry, 22, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault. He remained hospitalized with injuries from the shooting at Lone Star College.

Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Ted Turner's son runs for Congress

Teddy Turner, 49, son of media magnate Ted Turner, is running as a Republican in a crowded race for a South Carolina congressional seat. The contest has already attracted former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican seeking to make a political comeback after an affair with an Argentine woman derailed his career, and comedian Steven Colbert's sister, who is vying for the Democratic nomination.

Philadelphia

Hate crime alleged in confinement

A woman targeted mentally disabled adults in a scheme to steal their Social Security benefits, confining them like "zoo animals," forcing some into prostitution and causing the deaths of two through abuse and neglect, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Linda Weston, 52, of Philadelphia was indicted on charges including hate crimes, kidnapping, murder in aid of racketeering and forced human labor. It's the first use of the federal hate crimes statute to protect the disabled, officials said. The case came to light in October 2011 when a landlord found four malnourished victims locked in an apartment building basement, one chained to a boiler.

Baghdad

Funeral bombing kills 35 mourners

A tent crowded with Turkmen funeral mourners in northern Iraq was turned into a mass killing ground Wednesday by a suicide bombing that left at least 35 people dead and 117 wounded, officials said, calling it a genocidal attack meant to further stoke already inflamed sectarian tensions. The victims included high-ranking regional dignitaries, military officers, professors and religious men. The attack came a day after an extended outbreak of sectarian shootings and bombings that killed at least 24 Iraqis.

Norfolk, Va.

Navy sailors face alcohol testing

The Navy said Wednesday it will conduct random blood-alcohol tests on its sailors in the United States starting next month, a sign of service leaders' concern about the effects alcohol abuse is having on the force.